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(CNN)Puerto Rico on Sunday overwhelmingly voted for statehood. But Congress, the only body that can approve new states, will ultimately decide whether the status of the US commonwealth changes.

Ninety-seven percent of the votes in the nonbinding referendum favored statehood, an increase over the results of a 2012 referendum, official results from the State Electoral Commission show. It was the fifth such vote on statehood.

"Today, we the people of Puerto Rico are sending a strong and clear message to the US Congress ... and to the world ... claiming our equal rights as American citizens, Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said in a news release.

What do we really know about Puerto Rico?

When outsiders think of Puerto Rico, a couple of things probably come to mind: It's a small island in the Caribbean. People mostly speak Spanish there. It's not a US state but has American ties. They were the Sharks in "West Side Story." (Wait, maybe they were the Jets?) But there's so much more to know.

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Some Puerto Ricans are raring to cozy up with America to jump-start a flagging economy; meanwhile, some residents would just as soon maintain the status quo, and others would prefer to break ties altogether.

Momentum has been building for the island shaped like a postage stamp to join the union as the 51st state, so it's probably smart to start reading up about America's cousin to the south -- its background, economic status and heritage.

Puerto Rico's first governor, appointed in 1509, was Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León. He named a city on the island Puerto Rico, or "rich port," which later became the name by which the entire island was identified.

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Photos:What you should know about Puerto Rico

People fill pails with water at the Christopher Columbus Fountain in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, in 1920. Here, Columbus is said to have stepped on the shore and taken his first American drink.

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Puerto Ricans have been US citizens since 1917, and the island has been a US commonwealth since 1952. Puerto Rico wrote its own constitution, which was approved by Congress and signed by President Harry S. Truman.

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Photos:What you should know about Puerto Rico

Puerto Ricans last voted on the question of statehood in 2017. In the nonbinding referendum, 97% of the votes favored statehood, but voter participation was just 23% after opposition parties called for a boycott. Congress, the only body that can approve new states, will ultimately decide whether the status of the US commonwealth changes.

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A woman leaves a voting station after casting her ballot in the June 2008 Democratic presidential primary between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in San Juan. Puerto Ricans can vote in US primaries but not in presidential elections.

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Tourism is big business throughout the island and pulls in about $4 billion annually. The Castillo San Cristóbal in San Juan is a top attraction. It's one of the largest fortresses built in the Americas, constructed to protect the island from military attack.

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The Zika epidemic presented a threat to the health of Puerto Ricans as well as a blow to the island's tourism industry. While the crisis was declared over in June 2017, more than 35,000 cases were reported there in 2016, and a public health emergency was enacted. Here, Michelle Flandez holds her son Inti Perez, diagnosed with microcephaly linked to the mosquito-borne virus.

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Photos:What you should know about Puerto Rico

Puerto Rican identity has played a prominent role in popular culture and entertainment. Hip-hop and breakdancing grew out of a multicultural New York landscape that included African-American and Puerto Rican youths. Here, a production of "West Side Story" features the fleet-footed Puerto Rican Sharks gang.

A down economy and high migration away from the island to mainland America means lots of vacant buildings on the island. The governor announced Puerto Rico would seek a form of bankruptcy protection to restructure its $70 billion-plus debt in May 2017, the largest municipal restructuring in US history.

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It was eventually named Puerto Rico, which means "rich port" and became a Spanish colony for about 400 years.

What's the difference between a commonwealth and a territory? Not too much, except that commonwealths have their own constitutions. Puerto Rican residents have been US citizens since 1917 (thanks to the Jones Act), so they receive many of the same benefits and protections, with just a few differences.

For one, they can truthfully say, "Don't blame me, I didn't vote for them," when discussing the US presidency. While voters can participate in primary elections, they can't vote for president in the general election. In 2016, 75% of Puerto Ricans voted for Marco Rubio in the Republican primary (and nearly 14% for Donald Trump) versus Hillary Clinton's 61% of the Democratic vote.

Puerto Rico has a nonvoting delegate in Washington, called a resident commissioner. Back home, Puerto Rico has its own governor and legislative body.

A definite plus to living on the island and one reason some might prefer things as they are: Puerto Ricans only have to pay federal income taxes on work they've done in the States, and not at home.

As a commonwealth, Puerto Rico gets US military protection and receives federal funding from the government for highways and social programs, just not as much as an official state gets.

Citizens pay into Social Security and have access to Medicare and Medicaid, but instead of being eligible for Supplemental Security Income assistance, low-income, elderly and blind or disabled people can get help from a similar program run by the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Statehood, independence or somewhere in between

Options on the weekend referendum included remaining a commonwealth, becoming a state, entering "free association" or becoming an independent nation. Free association is an official affiliation with the United States where Puerto Rico would still receive military assistance and funding.

In a 2012 referendum the majority of voters for the first time chose statehood, but it didn't go anywhere. (Some argued the results should have been considered a "no" since more than one-third of voters left the part about alternative status blank.)

Jorge Benitez, a political scientist at the University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras, said the only definite takeaway from the 2012 vote results at the time was that the people of Puerto Rico wanted a change in status. "It isn't clear what change we want, but we want change," he said.

"I think people just came to realize that the current relationship simply does not create the number of jobs that we need," Puerto Rico Secretary of State Kenneth McClintock said after that vote nearly five years ago.

In 2012, 6% of voters opted to cut ties with the United States.

"What people have to understand about the need for independence is that there's a fear that's been instilled on the people in Puerto Rico that if we were independent we couldn't run our own country," activist Rosa Clemente, the 2008 vice presidential nominee for the Green Party, told CNN's W. Kamau Bell.

After Sunday's successful fifth vote, the next step is another vote in October.

Then there would need to be a statute passed by Congress that would lay out the details of the transition process over the next few years, which would end with statehood. If Congress does not pass a statute, Puerto Rico's status would remain as it is.

Statehood for Puerto Rico could help the island's economy bounce back faster because more money would come in from federal spending on programs (but keep in mind the offset for federal revenue from individual and corporate taxes).

Fight or flight

As of 2016, 3.4 million people called Puerto Rico home. If someone moves from Puerto Rico to the mainland, they are migrating. Remember, they're citizens, so they don't need passports or visas. In 2015, about 89,000 Puerto Ricans moved to the US mainland, a record high, according to analysis by the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics, though about 25,000 returned to the island that year.

Why is everybody taking off? A 2014 report by the Pew Research Center on Hispanic Trends indicates a variety of reasons, from opportunities for better jobs, higher salaries and nicer places to live. This leaves fewer people back home to pick up the slack, which means lower birthrates and less tax revenue to help get the economy back on track.

On the flip side, some people and businesses see valuable financial benefits in moving to Puerto Rico. Two laws enacted in 2012 give tax breaks to nonresidents and tax exemptions on investments for residents.